


i'll be gentle for you, since you can't for yourself

by Herenya



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst, but really i only write fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 06:12:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12953067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herenya/pseuds/Herenya
Summary: Alex gets a bit beaten up on the job.  Maggie is there for her.





	i'll be gentle for you, since you can't for yourself

To call Alex’s week “sub-optimal” would be an understatement.  The mission on Monday had gone sideways in spectacular fashion, leaving Kara solar flared and unconscious in the sunbed for two days, while Alex had been confined to the med bay, with an array of injuries.  She was finally being discharged, with strict instructions regarding movement and timelines for returning to work.  Needless to say, Alex was not happy.

After being dropped off at her apartment, Alex carefully changed into pajamas and settled into bed, despite it being only noon.  She knew intellectually that she needed rest, (the lingering infection in her leg was taking more of a toll on her than she would admit), but was loathe to admit weakness.

“At least no one is here to see” she thought.  “My girlfriend couldn’t even come to pick me up.”  Alex knew she was being petulant; Maggie had to work, and the world didn’t stop because Alex Danvers got hurt.  She let herself drift off to sleep, hoping Maggie would at least be home when she woke up.  Things always seemed less awful with Maggie there.

She got her wish, a few hours later.  Alex woke up the smell of her favourite take out and Maggie stroking her hair.

“Hi” Alex rasped, voice barely above a whisper.

“Hey babe” Maggie smiled down at her.  “How are you feeling?”  Maggie wasn’t expecting Alex’s eyes to fill with tears at the question.  “Oh Alex, it’s ok, it’s ok, what can I do?”

“I don’t know”, Alex replied with a sniffle.  She shook herself, wincing at the movement, but trying to bring her roiling emotions under control.  “It’s ok, everything’s fine.”  She looked up at Maggie with a watery attempt at a smile.  “How was your day?”

Maggie frowned slightly. “No way, Danvers.  We’ve talked about pushing your feelings down.  It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it, but you don’t have to pretend everything’s fine.”

Alex sighed in frustration.  “The problem is I don’t even know what’s wrong!  I mean, intellectually, yes, I understand that I have a concussion and an infection, and that’s why I’m tired and my emotions are all over the place, but understanding doesn’t make it go away!”  She sat up with a grunt of effort and continued her tirade. “I hate feeling like this!  I hate that I can’t work, and that I feel weak and exhausted and I can’t fix it!  Did you know that I once taped a tissue to my arm because I didn’t have time to get a bandage?  That’s the kind of stuff I do, not lying in bed crying to my girlfriend about some bruises!”

Maggie gathered Alex into her arms, rubbing her back and rocking her gently.  “Alex, you are the most badass person I know, and I know Supergirl.”  Alex chuckled weakly at that.  “And I can tell you that you are not weak.  At all.  You have an extremely dangerous job, and things are going to happen.  This is not just ‘some bruises’.  You are not weak for getting hurt while protecting your sister, and you definitely not weak because your wounds got infected, or your brain got knocked around.  Those are things you can’t control.  You did your best in a bad situation, and you came home.  That’s what’s most important.  Kara still has her sister, Eliza still has her daughter, both of her daughters thanks to you, and I still have the love of my life.  You came home, Alex.  That’s literally all I ask of you.”

Alex nodded into Maggie’s shoulder.  She didn’t fully believe everything Maggie had said yet, but she felt better, that maybe someday she could believe all of it.  For now, in her love’s arms, it was enough.

“Come on, let’s get some food in you” Maggie said.  She helped Alex stand, and tucked herself under Alex’s arm, taking the weight off her injured leg.  Maggie settled her onto the couch, snugging a blanket around Alex and elevating her injured leg with a soft pillow.  After leaving the remote in Alex’s lap, she disappeared into the kitchen, coming back shortly with plates of food, glasses of water, and Alex’s medication.  Alex found herself tearing up again.

She didn’t know how to react to being treated this way.  She hadn’t been looked after like this since she was a child.  Left to her own devices, Alex tended to use the “sleep and suffer” method of dealing with any type of illness.  She never took the time to do anything beyond the basic “don’t die”. 

Maggie though….Maggie was soft and gentle and so, so caring; she was all the things Alex had never learned to be for herself.  And she was helping Alex get better at expressing herself.

So, when Maggie settled herself onto the couch, Alex leaned into her girlfriend and pressed a small kiss to her cheek.  “Thank you.  For everything.”

Maggie wrapped her arm around Alex and pulled her in a bit further.  “Any time, my love.  I got you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @noracharlesandherdogasta if you want to come by and say hi or see pictures of my dog


End file.
